The present disclosure relates to medical fluid solution bags and more particularly to dual chamber solution bags.
Various medical treatments, such as peritoneal dialysis, use dual bag solutions. Peritoneal dialysis solution is called dialysate. Dialysate has traditionally included lactate in a single chamber bag. More recently, dialysate has been made to be bicarbonate based. Bicarbonate is unstable in the presence of magnesium and calcium and forms a precipitate after a period of time. Accordingly, bicarbonate based dialysate needs to be packaged in a dual chamber supply bag.
The two chambers of the dual chamber bag are separated by a seal that a person breaks without tearing the entire bag. One such seal provided by the assignee of the present disclosure is termed a peel seal. Prior to use, the patient or caregiver breaks the seal between the two chambers and the solution from the two chambers is mixed and used before a calcium or magnesium precipitate can form.
The two unmixed solutions separated by the peel seal pose a risk. Each solution taken individually is physiologically unsafe for the patient. Accordingly, it is necessary to properly mix the individual solutions to form the final solution before injecting any of the solutions into the patient or contacting any of the solutions with the patient's blood.
FIG. 1 illustrates a known dual chamber bag 10. A medical fluid system, such as a peritoneal dialysis system, is connected to bag 10 via an access system 20. Access system 20 is connected fluidly to chamber 12. When it is desired to use the combined solution within bag 10, a frangible seal 14 is broken allowing solution A residing within chamber 16 to mix with solution B residing within chamber 12.
As alluded to above, bag 10 presents an inherent risk. If after connecting the bag 10 to the patient, the seal between chamber 12 and access system 20 is broken before frangible seal 14 is broken (allowing solutions A and B to mix), a potentially physiologically unsafe solution B is allowed to reach the patient or to contact the patient's blood.
Accordingly, an improved dual chamber solution bag is needed.